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Credit: John Wilcox

David Ortiz talks with Red Sox manager John Farrell beside the batting cage earlier this week.

FORT MYERS -- A few pregame notes, non-Jon Lester division, before the 1:05 p.m. first pitch for the Red Sox' spring-training finale here against the Twins:

--With heavy rain this morning leaving the JetBlue Park turf wet, David Ortiz is absent from the lineup for a second consecutive game, the Red Sox opting not to risk exacerbating the stiffness in his right calf. Fear not, though. Ortiz' status for Opening Day isn't in doubt. "If we're in the regular season, if this is Monday, he's playing," manager John Farrell said. "He's ready to go for Monday." And so, Ortiz finishes spring training with two hits and 12 strikeouts in 37 at-bats, plus one nice contract extension. "I'm not going to put too much emphasis on spring training results," Farrell said. "He's got a long career of that. He's also got a very long and strong career record of what the regular season suggests. He's in shape. He's ready to go."

--Good thing Brandon Workman brought a suit to spring training. Despite pitching in the playoffs, the rookie right-hander wasn't a lock for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Just in case, though, he packed a suit in anticipation of the Sox' trip to the White House on Tuesday. Sure enough, with lefty reliever Craig Breslow (shoulder strain) opening the season on the disabled list, Workman beat out lefty Drake Britton for the final seat in the bullpen. "It's exciting to be able to break with the team Opening Day and not only be on the team but be a part of the stuff we have coming up," Workman said. "It's really cool. I'm really happy about it." Farrell said the Sox still view Workman as a starter, and since Breslow can be activated as early as April 5, Workman will pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen in order to keep his arm stretched out. If Breslow missed more than a few weeks, Workman likely will head to Triple A to resume starting. "The one thing that we've outlined to Brandon and have committed to internally is that we don't want the back and forth (between the bullpen and rotation)," Farrell said. "It's one thing about stretching out in spring training and going to the bullpen for a short period of time, but once that time period shifts him back to a starter, we want him to remain in that role just for long-term health and minimizing any potential risk." Still, Workman will get to visit the White House. "I had a suit, but I didn't know what I was doing with it until yesterday," Workman said. "It's exciting."

--General manager Ben Cherington on the choice of Grady Sizemore as Opening Day center fielder: "I think it was really a combination of the performance in spring training and the fact that he passed every test that was given to him this spring. It doesn't mean there aren't some more tests that he'll have a chance to pass, but everything that he could do during the time that we had in spring training, he was able to do. We just felt like, based on everything we know and everything we're watching, the best team we could put out there on Monday has him on it. That was the determination." After missing the past two seasons while recovering from multiple surgeries, Sizemore exceeded even his own expectations from when he arrived in camp and credited Red Sox sports medicine coordinator Dan Dyrek, who helped extend Larry Bird's career, for putting him on a program that has allowed him to stay healthy. "We're excited for him," Cherington said. "He's worked his tail off, and for a guy who had been unable to do what he always was able to do and unable to do what he always loved doing, it's been a lot of fun watching him out there and we're happy for him."

--Veteran right-hander Francisco Cordero has been released after informing the Red Sox that he wouldn't accept an assignment to Triple A. The 38-year-old reliever signed a minor league deal before spring training and worked eight scoreless innings, although he appeared mostly in the late innings when major league players were long out of the game. Cordero is expected to pursue other opportunties to pitch in the majors.

--The Red Sox made their final round of cuts, assigning lefty Tommy Layne, right-hander Brayan Villarreal, infielder Mike McCoy and outfielder Corey Brown to minor league camp. All are expected to play at Triple A.

--While the rest of the team will travel to Baltimore after the game, Clay Buchholz will stay behind to throw about 90 pitches tomorrow in a minor league game, his final tune-up before the season starts. Buchholz won't make his first regular-season start until next Saturday against the Brewers at Fenway Park.